Will Thomas Cook Tally This?

Over the last few decades, India is fast assuming prominence as the most sought after destination by international travellers. This vastly owing to its geographical and cultural diversity, and it’s affinity to offer a range of products and services that are intriguing and business worthy. India also makes a mark in the in the MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferencing and expositions) segment of tourism.

This especially holds true with the traditional tours and travel company, Thomas Cook India. In-spite of the numerous controversies surrounding its UK based parent company, it is essential to note that Thomas Cook India is currently being operated by a Canadian company named FairFax; after it’s acquisition from the British parent company (Thomas Cook UK), in 2012. The bankruptcy of the parent company has caused a certain economic stir in the European Travel sector. But the question that remains is; ‘How could the news of Thomas Cook’s UK bankruptcy, affect the proceedings of the Indian Travel sector?’

The Truth

With numerous controversies surrounding the iconic parent company; Thomas Cook India, strives hard to keep up with the iconic benchmark figures it’s established in the first half of 2019. The following includes,

The cash and bank deposits balances stand at Rs. 13,890 Million, as of June 30, 2019.

On a standalone basis Thomas Cook India is debt free upon pre-payment of Rs. 670 Million debenture obligations ahead of schedule.

The Group generates an average annual free cash flow of around Rs. 2500 Million.

The unaddressed question

With Mr. Madhavan Menon who also remains unavailable for a comment on the success of the travel giant, there is also a need for Thomas Cook to understand and acknowledge, how the failure of the parent company could affect the overall business of travel in India inspite of Thomas Cook India, being an independent entity.

According to the reports enlisted on ibef.org, India’s total contribution by travel and tourism sector is surged at a whopping Rs. 15.24 trillion (US$ 234.03 billion) in 2017. It is expected to display a steady rise at Rs. 32.05 trillion (US$ 492.21 billion) in 2028. India is presently ranked at the 7th place, among 184 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution. And with the current air of change Thomas Cook India is fast devising its infrastructure to that of becoming an entrenched onmi-channel entity, providing a seamless marketing experience for customers pan India and globally too.

End Note

Inspite of the market changing at a rocket-fuelled pace, it is imperative to comprehend the doings of an experienced entity that is continuously evolving with the changing norms and trends in the world of tourism. The experience of Thomas Cook is continuously bolstered with the emergent trends in the world of tourism but at a physical and a virtual level.

Born and brought up in the financial capital of Mumbai Heer Kothari has been writing for a number of publications since the last 15 years. She keenly takes to art, lifestyle, food, alco-beverages and travel. She is also working as a teaching consultant with the Jehangir's School of Speech and Drama since the last 17 years.